It has come to this moment. The Olympics are upon us and I have no clue how I’m going to survive with the time difference, work, and all my other commitments. However I do it, I will give you my predictions nonetheless. Onward!

Men

Ice is indeed slippery and I actually have no clue how I will make up the predictions for the men’s event. Even as I type this, my mind is whirling with the possibilities and I will likely make a random guess at the end. There are a lot of contenders and possibilities in the men’s field and at this point, it’s anyone’s game. Nathan Chen leads the quad squad and whether he keeps his momentum from the GPF is yet to be seen. Should he falter, there are many who can take the helm of Olympic Champion including Javier Fernandez, who will not get penalized as harshly should he violate the zayak rule this time. The two time World Champion doesn’t have all the quads but the judges have shown that they are willing to reward him for his skating skills and well-executed programs.

Not to be underestimated is Shoma Uno, despite not showing the pizzaz we’ve seen in previous seasons. In the past, we’ve seen Uno use his near wins as fuel for the future but somehow, with Olympic pressure mounting, I don’t quite see the same determination this season. Nonetheless, he is still a force to be reckoned with. Also in the mix is Boyang Jin and Mikhail Kolyada. Neither of them really have superb skating skills like Fernandez but they do have quads and spotty consistency, which may work for an interesting podium.

Defending Olympic Champion, Yuzuru Hanyu, is coming back from injury and the fact that he’s not doing the team event doesn’t bode well. I wish him all the best but the cautious side of me will likely not put him on the podium. I sincerely hope he proves me wrong.

Predictions:

Gold: Nathan Chen
Silver: Javier Fernandez
Bronze: Shoma Uno

Ladies

The battle for gold will be likely between Alina Zagitova and Evgenia Medvedeva. Zagitova has only been consistent at Euros this season but assuming the Olympic curses are in full force, I’ll put her in as the surprise win at Pyeongchang. Medvedeva looked solid coming out of injury after Euros and frankly, the fate of the gold medal is in her hands. If she skates clean, she should be able to top her teammate. I’m just not sure if she’s recovered enough to clinch the gold

As for bronze, there are a number of ladies who are strong contenders. Canada’s hopes rest on Kaetlyn Osmond, who seems to be unraveling under all the pressure (there was some buzz that she was the best hope to beating Medvedeva last season) and to a lesser extent, Gabrielle Daleman, who has an outside chance should a large number of women falter as they did at Worlds last year. Carolina Kostner has been looking strong and better than ever and her bronze at Euros is a sign that the judges are willing to put her over Maria Sotskova, who has risen above the rest of the strong Russian ladies field to take the last spot on the Olympic team. Some dark horses include the very consistent and surprise National Champion, Bradie Tennell, and the two Japanese ladies, Kaori Sakamoto and Satoko Miyahara. This will be a difficult podium to determine.

The battle for gold will be exciting and it will likely come down to two very worthy teams: Aliona Savchenko & Bruno Massot and Wenjing Sui & Cong Han. I would be pleased as punch if either of these two teams win though in the event that they skate perfectly, I suspect that Savchenko & Massot’s innovative LP will have the edge over Sui & Han’s Turandot. Overall, the team who skates clean will likely capture the gold.

Other podium contenders include Evgenia Tarasova & Vladimir Morozov skating to a very confusing LP, and Meagan Duhamel & Eric Radford, who have some of the most difficult elements in the pairs competition. Duhamel & Radford may have what it takes to win but they have been struggling with consistency this season, and the judges aren’t always generous with the PCS.

I was pretty sure of Gabriella Papadakis & Guillaume Cizeron’s victory when they got world record scores on non-home ice at the Cup of China and their GPF win also seals my suspicion that the judges will place them over their main rivals, Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir in Pyeongchang. Virtue & Moir have learned from their former Olympic experience and made some very effective changes to building a crescendo for the end of their program but I’m not sure if it’s enough at this point. Nonetheless, there should be a lot of pride in being Canadian flag-bearers and a legendary team in skill and longevity in the sport.

There is one very small ray of hope for V/M fans – I do find it interesting that Skate Canada was pushing *extremely* hard for Tessa & Scott during Nationals. Given that the recent competitions in France have been… on the frugal side *cough* plastic stars instead of medals *cough*, an economic argument could be made to keep the Canadian fans happy, as they have steadfastly bought a chunk of the seats to competitions held in Canada. Still, this is pure speculation on the political side of the sport, and of all the predictions on this post, I’m most confident about the ice dance results.

As for bronze, it will likely be a toss-up between the two American ice dance teams – Maia & Alex Shibutani, and Madison Hubbell & Zachary Donohue. The latter won Nationals after a critical mistake by the Shibsibs in the FD and it looks like the judges won’t be forgiving to the Shibutanis if they do the same in Pyeongchang. It will be an exciting match for bronze as Hubbell & Donohue have really started to show the confidence and skill that has always been within their potential.

Let’s face it: nothing has really changed from Sochi and there are still really only 3 countries that have a shot at the podium in the team event. Other countries, like France and China have yet to develop a well-rounded team where there are adept competitors in each discipline. The Olympic Athletes from Russia have the most solid team and will likely win gold again, though the race for silver might be a little tighter this time, depending on the results of the single skaters from Canada. If Patrick Chan and the Canadian ladies can muster two good performances, they can probably maintain a good lead over the Americans. If not, the silver will slip out of their fingers.

Predictions:

Gold: Olympic Athletes from Russia
Silver: Canada
Bronze: U.S.A

What are your predictions for each podium? Do you think I missed anyone? Let me know in the comments. For live tweets during the Olympic events, follow my Twitter @rinksidecafe!

The week has been long and insanely busy, once again. The competition may have already started already so I apologize. Names on page, let’s go.

Men

Without Yuzuru, the competition will likely be between Shoma Uno and Nathan Chen for gold. The former was a little shaky in his last GP assignment though home ice may be kind. Chen is going into the competition with full confidence from his win at Skate America. Either way, I think the ball is in Shoma’s court but I think he will fumble a bit here.

The rest of the field don’t quite have the quads, save for Mikhail Kolyada, who seems to have finally found his rhythm. Barring a total meltdown, he should be able to secure the bronze.

Predictions:

Gold: Nathan Chen
Silver: Shoma Uno
Bronze: Mikhail Kolyada

Ladies

Strange how neither singles World Champion is at this competition. With the vacuum left by Evgenia Medvedeva, I think that Alina Zagitova can fill it with her double tano jumps and back-ended programs. There are other skaters who are well rounded and have more enjoyable programs to watch but you can’t deny that 1) the back-ended programs rack up points and 2) the judges have never marked PCS correctly to penalize skaters with incoherent or check-box like programs.

Some challengers: Kaetlyn Osmond if she can get herself together and Carolina Kostner, who skates with a polish and maturity well beyond the rest of the field. Maria Sotskova should also be in contention for a medal. This will be a tough call. I think Osmond can win this should she skate clean but I’m not sure if I’m ready to put my faith in her yet.

Predictions:

Gold: Alina Zagitova
Silver: Maria Sotskova
Bronze: Kaetlyn Osmond

Pairs

What a great roster. Pairs has gone from my least favourite disciplines to my favourite. Wenjing Sui & Cong Han look strong this season, and one of their biggest rivals, Meagan Duhamel & Eric Radford faltered at Skate America last week. The judges don’t seem to like their style this season as much as the previous seasons so whatever their TES, Sui & Han will likely have the higher PCS throughout the competition. Should the Chinese pair skate clean, they will be hard to beat at any competition this season.

Bronze will be a tough call between Evgenia Tarasova & Vladimir Morozov with their wtf LP and Aliona Savchenko & Bruno Massot, with probably my favourite LP of the season. So many tough calls.

I said it at the beginning of the season and even if I’m not fully confident of my other predictions, I am fairly certain that Gabriella Papadakis & Guillaume Cizeron will be Olympic Champions in Pyeongchang. Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir failed to improve on their scores on non-home ice, and are prone to small but costly mistakes. The French have been steadily improving and are super consistent – their inexperience jitters are gone and they’re in it to win it. Furthermore, both P&C’s programs this season are more coherent than that of their rivals. I’m not sure if V&M can win that second title they were looking for.

As for bronze, the leading American team will fill that spot and for now, it’s still the Shibsibs. If any of the other American teams want that top spot at Nationals this season, now is the time to make a case for themselves.

I hope everyone had a lovely Easter long weekend! Once my precious days off were over, I realized that Worlds was starting very soon and I had to get my act together and do a Worlds predictions post. My last few predictions have been off the mark but hey, it happens and it won’t deter me from making more. So here goes!

Alright! It’s time for part II of the Grand Prix Final debrief with the pairs and ice dance competition! I apologize for the lateness but better late than never? These posts remind me why I usually do a “State of the Union” post after the GPF but it seems this season, my tardiness has some benefits. I believe some of the results at Nationals may be a little more telling than what transpired at the GPF so… I will do a 4CC predictions post but all my thoughts on the outcomes of Euros and 4CC and some of the national competitions will be summed up in a State of the Union post.

As for Worlds… well, I have a bit of a surprise which I think I will reveal a little later in the season. But first, GPF debrief! Let’s go!

As a few of you have remarked, my predictions for the Grand Prix Final were oh so terribly wrong. Although my predictions are incorrect a lot of the time, these ones were wrong through and through and when I thought about it, I drew these conclusions:

Not having the 2nd half of TEB really messed things up. I point to my overestimation of Gold and Chan’s abilities. I thought they were going to medal here but I suspect that should TEB have played out completely, their weakness for this season would have been a lot more clear.

Never base your predictions on your hopes. Just stick to the status quo until it changes.

Even if you do stick with the status quo, ice is slippery. I did not think that anyone could beat Duhamel & Radford. Their streak is over.

The Grand Prix Final is upon us! As always with all the GPFs, not all the top skaters are in this competition due to one circumstance or another but that does not stop the fact that this competition will be a decisive one on several fronts for the rest of the season. The roster for this competition looks exciting and I can’t wait to watch it. But first, predictions!